“Some foods are rare for a good reason, so cherish them when you get lucky enough to enjoy those rare delicacies. You won’t get to do it often!” - Saying attributed to the Silver Maiden.

“This is really really good,” praised Celia with an awestruck expression on her face as she slowly sipped from her bowl of krait soup, freshly made by the ship’s cook and served steaming hot into their bowls. Flesh from the captured krait was sliced into extremely thin strips, while its skin – the part that did not make for good leather – was sliced into thin strands almost like noodles, floating in the thick soup.

The broth itself was made from the krait’s own bones, cracked open to allow its marrow to flavor the soup some more, combined with some familiar spices like ginger and some pickled vegetables, both chopped finely and incorporated into the soup. The soup was allowed to simmer for a few hours before the pieces of meat and skin, as well as some dried mushrooms were added, then let to boil for a while more before it was thickened with some cornflour.

None of Aideen’s group were unfamiliar with the sort of dried mushrooms used in the dish, as it was a sought after export from the Lichdom. The mushrooms were endemic to the Lichdom’s south-western regions, and the elves from the Forest of Shadows in particular had been farming them en masse over the past couple of centuries.

Once the elves in question realized that the mushrooms that grew naturally in many places of their forest were sought after and highly prized by others, they sought ways to produce the mushrooms in large quantities without sacrificing quality. Perhaps owing to their close relation to nature, the elves only took a couple decades before their trial and error methods led to a sustainable process.

Ever since then, the dried mushrooms had been one of the main industries of the Forest of Shadows, which earned the elves living there a great deal of revenue every year. The dried mushrooms they produced were not only sold within the Lichdom, but proved to be greatly popular in Elmaiya, the Jarldoms, and even overseas.

Since they were light in weight but took up quite a bit of space, it was simply more convenient to transport them by bulk using normal means of transportation, as most merchants only had limited space in their storage artifacts and prioritized keeping items that were small in size but high in value inside them. Fortunately the mushrooms lasted for years once dried properly, which made them particularly suitable for long-distance transportation.

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Combined with the krait broth, the mushrooms lent a tinge of herbal bitterness and a deep earthiness to the already savory broth, as well as their chewy texture, while the ginger gave a pleasant hint of warm spiciness to the whole. The pickled vegetables added a dose of sourness, while the flaky krait flesh crumbled upon the tongue, practically melting in the mouth. Instead, it was the thread-like strips of krait skin and the crunchy bits of pickled vegetables that lent the thick soup some textural elements.

The thick, hot, and sour soup itself felt silky on the tongue, full of flavor and shards of tender krait meat. A feeling of warmth could be felt from one’s stomach after they had some of the soup, and the robustly flavored soup was plenty to satisfy, in its way quite worth being considered a rare delicacy. All too often such rare delicacies were more “rare” than “delicacy”, as Aideen had at times found out the hard way.

Other than the soup, the ship’s chef also prepared another couple dishes with the krait meat. The chef dipped thicker slices of the krait flesh into a thin batter of water and fine flour, then covered it with finely crushed bread crumbs,, before he fried it in a pot of oil until the batter turned into a crisp golden color. Served with a creamy sauce that had bits of sour pickles mixed into it, the soft, flaky flesh of the krait contrasted its crisp coating, and its delicate savoriness was brought out by the sauce.

Compared to other meats they had before, the krait flesh was like a mix between chicken and fish, which was far from uncommon amongst reptile meat. Perhaps the krait was closer to fish than chicken, though, with its tender, flaky texture and delicate flavor, yet it also possessed a meaty feeling to it, one that made one feel sated after having some of the flesh as part of their meal.

What the chef prepared for the last dish was perhaps the most unusual one, as he simply wrapped some pickles, fish eggs, and chopped vegetables in thin slices of raw krait flesh, then rolled it up into neat parcels. The parcels were then dipped into some fish sauce from the Lichdom mixed with sliced chili peppers before they were eaten, providing an enjoyable melange of texture and flavors.

Somehow the delicate taste of the krait meat remained prominent, despite how it was paired with a multitude of strong flavors, while the raw flesh had a somewhat gummy texture that was simply a pleasure to chew on, with the flavor becoming more noticeable the more they chewed. Needless to say, the sailors thoroughly enjoyed the chance to have a delicacy that was so rare that even kings might not be able to get some, unless they were lucky.

Aideen knew that Arquivaldo had no obligation to share the delicacy with her group, as the krait flesh was likely worth its weight in gold or silver, but the captain showed no hesitation in sharing some of the rare bounty with the entirety of his crew. Additional profits were one thing, but sometimes, one should just enjoy things in life as they came.

It was an outlook that Aideen herself was familiar with, and one that she shared with the good captain. When one had an eternity to look forward to, enjoying every bit of the journey definitely helped keep one occupied.